At the top of the climb to Cauterets-Cambasque, joy was high in the Uno-X camp. Arne Gunnar Ensrud, who is the trainer for, among others, Tobias and twin brother Anders Halland Johannessen, was among those who were up on the mountain with the 23-year-old after the finish line. There he had to shed some tears of joy, after seeing Johannessen drive to an impressive third place on the sixth stage of the Tour de France. – It was joy, mostly. Joy and relief. It is extremely good that he got to show his potential. It provides peace of mind for the rest of the team and a real confidence boost, says Ensrud to news. Once down in the village of Cauterets a few minutes later, Johannessen is quick to boast to Ensrud, who goes by the nickname “AG”. – It’s something everyone has dreamed of, being able to be here in the Tour. I have said that for many years, that the dream is to run the biggest race in the world with Uno-X. Now we are here, and in addition, the legs are starting to come and we manage to do a good stage. Then it is very nice to have “AG” at the top. He is one of my closest friends, both for Anders and me. Getting to experience this with him, it’s cool. He deserves a lot of praise, says the 23-year-old. – Why does he deserve praise? – He puts up with all kinds of fuss. I’ve had a lot of problems with my knees and then I call and have a bit of a sore throat. It’s mostly boring, but then it’s extra fun when we succeed. We have had some such experiences in the past and it provides motivation to work further. TOUCHED TO TEARS: Ensrud (left) together with team doctor Rory Nolan. Photo: Anders Boine Verstad / news – Mixed feelings For Johannessen, the dream of a stage win was more or less crushed when Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar drove up over the Col du Tourmalet. The two combined guns were, as expected, the best in the climb up to the finish line. – There was a while where I managed to keep them roughly at half distance, but they got a little too strong. It’s a bit boring to see the victory slip away so late, but there are two names that are cool to have in front of them on the results list. – You have had a few minutes to think about the day, how do you see the day that has been? – It has been cool, but there are some mixed feelings. If there had only been a day where the overall riders would not have stretched their legs like that, then you could have fought for victory. At the same time, I feel that we get to show ourselves off. We have seen that there has been some criticism in the past that we have been somewhat anonymous. Now we are at least showing that the possibility of a stage win is not just something we made up, he says. Tobias Halland Johannessen impressed greatly during the sixth Tour de France stage. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB – Are you left with what is actually a slightly bitter feeling? – Yes a little. But at the same time, I feel that I have had a good bike race. It’s fun to be at the front of a Tour de France stage. The legs are good, so it bodes well for the coming weeks, says Johannessen. For a long time, he also had his teammate Jonas Gregaard with him in the break. The Dane was an important helper for Johannessen throughout large parts of the stage. – I have been a little stressed on our behalf that we have not delivered anything. But now we show that we have the legs to run for victory, he says happily. First over iconic climb The stage took the riders over well-known climbs such as Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet. Over the latter, Johannessen was the first rider over the top. – I have goosebumps all over my body. I couldn’t believe my ears. First over the Tourmalet is very big, said TV 2’s cycling expert Dag Otto Lauritzen. As the first man up, he collected 20 climbing points and a cash prize of 5,000 euros, equivalent to just over 58,000 Norwegian kroner. Never before has a Norwegian been first up the Col du Tourmalet. You can see the climbing feat in the video window at the top of the case. There was also a duel with Portuguese Ruben Guerreiro which almost caused a rollover. Then Johannessen handed out a small rinsing bucket. – There is zero respect, commented Christian Paasche at TV 2. – It is good that he is making up for it, Thor Hushovd followed up. – I had no thought behind it, but I felt strong. And then I saw Guerreiro trying to drive me into the fence, so then I wanted to take him, says Johannessen himself to news and TV 2. Tobias Halland Johannessen delivered a very strong sixth stage in the Tour de France on Thursday. Photo: BENOIT TESSIER / Reuters – Vanvittig Johannessen ensured Uno-X and Norwegian cycling’s best result in this year’s Tour de France with a third place. To follow up the historic mountain feat of only being beaten by Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard is not just. – I am satisfied with the performance. I had very good legs and got the most out of it as it turned out, he adds. Before this stage, Alexander Kristoff’s seventh place on stage four was the best result seen from Norwegian eyes. – This is absolutely crazy. I never thought that Tobias would be able to assert himself so well on this stage in the strong break he was in, and a third place after they were visited by Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, that is masterful, says news’s cycling expert Sondre Sørtveit. – He does a small Norwegian cycling feat by finishing third on this mountain stage, says Ole Kristian Stoltenberg on news’s radio broadcast. The team-mates are also very proud of the 23-year-old. – It’s completely wild. We know the top level he has inside, so it was incredibly nice that he got it today. He shows how much potential he has, says Søren Wærenskjold. – He is completely raw. He has had a bit of a troubled season, but his tops are absolutely raw. It’s incredibly fun that he manages to do it. It’s crazy fun, says Jonas Abrahamsen. Pogacar hit back On the last hill, it was Wout van Aert who kept a steady pace for Jonas Vingegaard for a long time, before the Dane himself took responsibility around five kilometers from the finish line. – It costs a bit to drive broken. When they went to, I felt I didn’t have it, so I just had to “pace”. I really wanted that third place when they drove past, so it’s fun, says Johannessen. – I hoped they wouldn’t come back. They are on another level, but I am getting closer every day. I feel I could have won if they hadn’t brought us in today, he adds. With just under 2.5 kilometres, Pogacar attacked and then Vingegaard was unable to respond. Pogacar fought back after the criticism and took the stage win ahead of the Dane. Then Tobias Halland Johannessen came in for a strong third place. Vingegaard took over the yellow leader’s jersey, but Pogacar simultaneously created new excitement in the race by beating the Dane by 24 seconds. Vingegaard leads 25 seconds ahead of Pogacar in the summary.
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– Goosebumps – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
